1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hinges and to a method of installing hinges, and, more particularly, to hinges having rounded top and bottom rear surfaces and to hinge recesses for receiving the hinges, and to a method of installing such hinges in recesses with rounded mating top and bottom portions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hinges of the prior art for doors, both cabinetry and room, typically are recessed in both the door and the frame. The recesses are typically made by routing from generally perpendicularly to the plane of the door and the frame. Such routing takes several passes of the router and results in rounded corners at the top and bottom rear of a recess. As a result of the rounded corners, either the hinges must also have rounded outer corners or else the recess must have its corners squared. The squaring of the corners is typically accomplished by chiseling out the rounded corner. This chiseling step requires both extra time and manpower either at the site of the door installation or else at the plant/factory when a door is preinstalled in a door frame.
The apparatus and method of the present invention eliminates the extra step in installation of hinges by routing the hinge recess from generally parallel to the plane of the surface into which the recess is made and by providing hinges with rounded top and bottom rear surfaces for those recesses. Thus, time is saved in both the making of the recesses for the hinges and in the installation process, and the aesthetics of square corners for the hinge and its recesses are preserved.
When the top and bottom ends of the hinge recesses are square, paint builds up and prevents the hinges from being installed flush. This results in the doors and door frames not being finish painted prior to hinge installation. However, when the top and bottom ends are concavely rounded, as with the present invention, paint buildup does not occur, and the doors and door frames may be finish painted prior to hinge installation. The ability to finish paint prior to hinge installation is another advantage of the present apparatus and method.
The invention described and claimed includes a hinge with rounded top and bottom rear portions and hinge receiving recesses for receiving such hinges. The hinges are secured in recesses which are made by routing from generally parallel to the plane of the surface into which the recess is formed, and to the method of making such recess and installing such hinge in the recess.
Among the objects of the present invention are the following:
To provide a new and useful hinge;
To provide a new and useful recess for a hinge;
To provide a new and useful method of making a hinge receiving recess;
To provide a new and useful recess for a hinge having concavely rounded top and bottom portions;
To provide a new and useful method of installing a hinge in a hinge receiving recess; and
To provide a new an useful leaf hinge having convexly rounded top and bottom rear surfaces.